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Patrick Ryan and opinion editor David Plazas discuss how nations are working to stem the spread of COVID-19, the impact of closing borders and what lessons this teaches young people who are growing up in this new reality.
Nashville Tennessean

True freedom isn’t doing whatever you want without any consequence. Everything you and I do in the name of “freedom” must be filtered through some kind of lens

Story Highlights

Capt. Malcolm A. Rios, a Cookeville, Tennessee native, is a U.S. Army battalion chaplain stationed in Camp Zama, Japan.

Shelter in place (SIP). That little three-word phrase wreaked about as much havoc in some people’s lives as COVID-19 itself.

Lines have been drawn. Opinions are being shared more often through social media and office scuttlebutt and appear to be escalating in their intensity.

Those of us who have enjoyed freedom for so long are experiencing something none of us have ever experienced … except maybe when we got grounded for throwing a party in high school while our parents were out of town. I don’t know about that; just speaking for a friend.

I’ve also read and heard a lot of comments from service members who have deployed either operationally or combat. Yes, those of us who have deployed in either manner have experienced restrictions of numerous freedoms, but we know, quite honestly, we signed up for it.

Yes, restrictions create inconvenience

In these days of SIP I was reminded of our Battalion’s deployment to Kuwait. The U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment (aka Iron Knights), was scheduled to fly out of Colorado Springs one day and, wouldn’t you know it, it snowed. Huge accumulation.

Captain Malcolm Rios(Photo: Submitted)

We got stuck for over 48 hours. Imagine being stuck in a building, much like an airport hangar/terminal, with 250 or more of your "closest friends" who don’t want to be there either.

For 48 hours we had to entertain ourselves without infringing upon our neighbors who were trying to entertain themselves as well. You can imagine. The introverts hated it. The extroverts set up, playing Spades and various other card games which increased the noise level in the main bay.

The Iron Knights’ 2017 deployment to Poland started out the same way, but fortunately, we weren’t stuck in the terminal as long. The interesting thing about our time in Karliki, Poland is that we fell in on a spot which had to be built to accommodate us upon our arrival.

Nothing quite like staying in a “Fest Tent” for a few weeks in mostly sub-freezing weather with a foot or more of snow on the ground. The portable toilets were the last place you wanted to go in the middle of the night.

All that to say, we’ve all had some kind of experience in which some of our freedoms have been restricted. Whether it’s because of the military, the choices we make, or the situation in which we find ourselves, having restrictions placed on us by someone else makes us all value our freedom that much more.

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Protect your freedoms, but defend others' liberty too

For those of us in the military, we’ve bought into the idea, “Freedom isn’t free.” We know the price of defending it.

Actress Lena Headey, playing Queen Gorgo in the movie "300," said, "Freedom isn’t free at all, that it comes with the highest of costs. The cost of blood.”

I think that’s why we can appreciate our freedoms so much despite our willingness to forgo them for years at a time in defense of our nation.

And now, we’re being asked to be vigilant with our freedoms once again. Some of us see the restrictions placed on us as a means by which to protect the other. This is an honorable intent.

On the other hand, some see these restrictions as the very means by which a government exercises unregulated power over its people. The concern for individual freedom is honorable as well as long as its gain is not at the expense of others' freedom.

Regardless of which side of the fence you fall on — if there really is a fence during a pandemic — it remains your responsibility to be safe, be smart, and be proactive in protecting yourself and those around you.

I would be remiss to not say anything about true freedom because so many have a false perception of what true freedom really is.

True freedom isn’t doing whatever you want without any consequence. Everything you and I do in the name of “freedom” must be filtered through some kind of lens: moral, ethical, spiritual, legal, agnostic, whatever.

From the biblical worldview though, freedom is easily found.

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13 ESV

One of the greatest mottoes the Army has belongs to the U.S. Special Forces: “De oppresso liber” or free the oppressed.

We, as a people, have yet to feel the full burden of being oppressed. Thank God for it.

But I also challenge you to be thankful for the current experience of what the loss of freedoms means to you and to us.

By all means, fight like hell for your freedoms, but never allow the actions of your freedoms infringe upon the freedoms of others.